Michael Todd Theatre
170 N. Dearborn Street,
Chicago,
IL
60601
170 N. Dearborn Street,
Chicago,
IL
60601
12 people
favorited this theater
Showing 51 - 75 of 84 comments
Belated reply to Cinemark Fan.
So the Dearborn Cinemas did show some mainstream blockbusters!
I vaguely recall that M&R re-opened the Hyde Park at about the same time and with the same intentions, but I could be mistaken.
Paul, off the top of my head I have a list of movies that played here at one point or another
2/7/86 – F/X
2/21/86 The Hitcher
7/18/86 – Aliens
11/26/86 – Star Trek 4: The Voyage Home
4/24/87- Extreme Prejudice
5/1/87 – Malone plus Rage of Honor
6/17/88 – Red Heat
7/20/88 – Die Hard
I have more, but it’ll take me a while to sort through them.
Paul, unfortunately I don’t have a specific list but I can tell you this much. The Dearborn was two screens (incorporating the Todd and the Cinestage) and each screen played double features of first run films on each.
It appears to me that, in common with other Loop theatres in the 1970s, standard fare would occasionally play here in addition to the horror and blaxploitation and action movies. For example, GIVE EM HELL HARRY was a one-man show about Harry Truman. LOGAN’S RUN was a huge sci-fi blockbuster. SILVERSTREAK was a huge hit as was ALIEN.
I would like to see a list of what played here when the theatre was briefly known as the Dearborn.
Here are the bookings for the Michael Todd from 1964 to its closing.
1/3/64 – TOM JONES
4/17/64 – THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE
7/29/64 – MAFIOSO
8/21/64 – CLOSED FOR RENOVATIONS
10/16-64- TOPKAPI
12/18/64- WEST SIDE STORY
3/17/65 – THE SOUND OF MUSIC
12/23/66- THE BIBLE
10/11/67- THE HAPPIEST MILLIONAIRE
12/20/67- DOCTOR DOLITTLE
7/24/68 – AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS
11/6/68 – STAR!
2/26/69 – BEN-HUR
6/18/69 – FUNNY GIRL
11/12/69- GOODBYE MR. CHIPS
2/25/70 – FEMALE ANIMAL
3/25/70 – I, A WOMAN PART 2
5/6/70 – FELLINI SATYRICON
8/14/70 – ON A CLEAR DAY YOU CAN SEE FOREVER
11/6/70 – SCROOGE
12/18/70- RYAN’S DAUGHTER
4/2/71 – THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN
5/28/71 – RED SKY AT MORNING
6/11/71 – WOODSTOCK
6/25/71 – WHO IS HARRY KELLERMAN AND WHY IS HE SAYING THOSE TERRIBLE THINGS ABOUT ME?
7/16/71 – THE SEVEN MINUTES
8/4/71 – PANIC IN NEEDLE PARK
8/25/71 – RIOT plus UP TIGHT
9/3/71 – COTTON COMES TO HARLEM plus IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT
9/15/71 – 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY
9/29/71 – GONE WITH THE WIND
10/20/71- DOCTOR ZHIVAGO
11/17/71- RYAN’S DAUGHTER
11/24/71- PATTON
12/3/71 – SHAFT plus TICK…TICK…TICK
12/15/71- AIRPORT
12/24/71- BRIAN’S SONG
2/9/72 – A CLOCKWORK ORANGE
6/14/72 – FILLMORE
6/29/72 – THE LEGEND OF NIGGER CHARLEY
7/14/72 – DR. PHIBES RISES AGAIN
7/28/72 – BLACULA
9/1/72 – SLAUGHTERHOUSE FIVE
10/6/72 – 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY
10/13/72- GONE WITH THE WIND
10/27/72- DOCTOR ZHIVAGO
11/3/72 – RYAN’S DAUGHTER
11/10/72- THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
11/24/72- TRINITY IS STILL MY NAME plus RIDER ON THE RAIN
12/15/72- SOUNDER
5/11/73 – THE LEGEND OF BOGGY CREEK
5/18/73 – GONE WITH THE WIND
5/25/73 – ST. LOUIS BLUES
6/1/73 – DEEP THRUST – THE HAND OF DEATH
6/29/73 – SCREAM BLACULA SCREAM
7/27/73 – RAW MEAT
8/10/73 – FEARLESS FIGHTERS
8/31/73 – THE HONG KONG CAT
9/21/73 – DON’T LOOK IN THE BASEMENT
10/5/73 – THE ITALIAN CONNECTION
10/26/73- BILLY JACK
11/9/73 – THE THUNDER KICK
11/21/73- BATTLE OF THE AMAZONS
12/21/73- THE SEVEN UPS
1/18/74 – BLACULA plus SCREAM BLACULA SCREAM
1/25/74 – LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT plus DON’T LOOK IN THE BASEMENT
2/8/74 – DERANGED
3/15/74 – THE HONG KONG CONNECTION
3/29/74 – THE THREE MUSKETEERS
5/17/74 – KUNG FU MAMA
5/31/74 – THE GODFATHER plus LADY SINGS THE BLUES
6/14/74 – ANDY WARHOL’S FRANKENSTEIN
8/2/74 – PANAROMA BLUE
8/21/74 – JOHNNY TOUGH
9/1/74 – STING OF THE DRAGON MASTERS plus ATTACK OF KUNG FU GIRLS
9/20/74 – BAMBOO BROTHERHOOD plus DRAGON’S VENGEANCE
10/4/74 – FLESH GORDON
11/22/74- ANDY WARHOL’S DRACULA
12/20/74- THE BLACK DRAGON
1/17/75 – COFFY plus THE MACK
1/29/75 – EMMANUELLE
4/15/75 – CAPONE
5/9/75 – MARY, MARY BLOODY MARY
5/23/75 – VAMPYRES plus DAUGHTERS OF DRACULA
6/6/75 – LEPKE
6/20/75 – TOMMY
7/4/75 – BENJI
7/11/75 – THE DROWNING POOL
7/25/75 – THE EXORCIST
8/15/75 – LINDA LOVELACE FOR PRESIDENT
8/29/75 – PART TWO WALKING TALL plus MR. MAJESTYK
9/24/75 – GIVE EM HELL HARRY
10/3/75 – MANDINGO plus THE KLANSMAN
10/10/75- ABBY plus THE MACK
10/17/75- LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT plus DON’T LOOK IN THE BASEMENT
10/24/75- LISTZOMANIA
10/31/75- All 5 PLANET OF THE APES Movies
11/7/75 – CHARLOTTE
11/21/75- FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE plus TALES FROM THE CRYPT
11/28/75- THE STREETFIGHTER plus RETURN OF THE STREETFIGHTER
12/5/75 – GONE WITH THE WIND
12/12/75- SANDSTONE
12/19/75- THE STORY OF O
2/27/76 – EMMANUELLE: THE JOYS OF A WOMAN
4/9/76 – COUNTDOWN AT KUSINI
4/23/76 – BLACK TIGRESS plus RIPPED OFF
4/30/76 – HUSTLE plus CHINATOWN
5/7/76 – COOLEY HIGH plus CORNBREAD, EARL AND ME
5/14/76 – THE STRANGER AND THE GUNFIGHTER plus HARD TIMES
5/21/76 – THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING plus PAPILLION
5/28/76 – BLAZING SADDLES
6/4/76 – CONFESSIONS OF A YOUNG AMERICAN HOUSEWIFE
6/18/76 – THE DEVIL WITHIN HER plus THEY CAME FROM WITHIN
6/25/76 – VIXEN plus SUPERVIXENS plus CHERRY, HARRY AND RAQUEL
7/2/76 – HOUSE OF EXORCISM plus FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE
7/30/76 – FOOD OF THE GODS plus SHEBA BABY
8/27/76 – LOGAN’S RUN plus THE KILLER ELITE
9/3/76 – THE EXORCIST
9/10/76 – AT THE EARTH’S CORE plus CORNBREAD, EARL AND ME
9/17/76 – BUCKTOWN plus TRUCK TURNER
9/24/76 – FUTUREWORLD plus BLACULA
10/1/76 – THE NAUGHTY VICOTRIANS
10/22/76- PART 2 SOUNDER
10/29/76- THE EROTIC ADVENTURES OF PINNOCHIO
11/19/76- ANNIE
12/17/76- BLACK EMMANUELLE
1/28/77 – THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS
2/11/77 – CHATTERBOX plus TRUCK STOP WOMEN
2/25/77 – MADAME KITTY
3/25/77 – THE JOY OF LETTING GO
4/8/77 – SILVER STREAK plus TAKE A HARD RIDE
4/22/77 – Theater Closed
10/7/77 – THE LINCOLN CONSPIRACY
10/28/77- Theater Closed
9/28/79 – FAIRY TALES plus CINDERELLA
10/5/79 – THE WARRIORS plus UP IN SMOKE'
10/12/79- FISTS OF BRUCE LEE plus SOUL BROTHERS OF KUNG FU
10/26/79- ALIEN plus THE FURY
11/2/79 – YOUNGBLOOD plus TALES FROM THE CRYPT
11/9/79 – COFFY plus THE MACK
Theater Closed
Duh! Catherine! The caption says 1982. I’d better get back to work!
A photo of the Todd/Cinestage can be found here: View link
Judging by the automobiles in the foreground, I’d say that the photo was taken in the early 1980s.
You can also see the Thompson Center, then known as the State of Illinois Building, under construction in the background. Who agrees with me that this is the worst building ever built in Chicago (The Thompson Center, not the theatres!)?
This theatre was one of the few in N. America that was able to show MGM Camera 65 and Ultra-Panavision 70 movies correctly. These two 70mm systems produced an unusually wide picture (almost 3 times as wide as it was high) and most theatres had to crop the sides somewhat.
The last run for these places in the movie business, as the Dearborn Cinemas, was definitely an M&R venture.
G. Feret:
Regarding your 1/5/07 posting about Beatlemania. It opened theatrically in late-July 1981 in the New York area (don’t know how many theatres, but it wasn’t very many). I saw it at the tiny Rockaway Inner 6 in Rockaway, New Jersey. The Sylvester Stallone film “Victory” was playing in the auditorium next to it and I could sporadically hear portions of that film through the paper-thin walls.
1) The “Also Known As..” should include the Dearborn Cinemas name.
2) I’m going to the Harold Washington Library and search microfilm on the Dearborn Cinemas. I would like to veruify the movies the Dearborn showed.
3) I’ve often heard complaints on Cinema Treasures that cinemas are torn down and replaced with something bland. Fortunately, these theatres were replaced by a performing arts venue, the Goodman Theatre. I’ve attended several plays at the Goodman and it is a terrific facility.
4) I believe that in the 70s, the Todd showed the action movies and the Cinestage was the porno house.
Boy, do I remember when MICHAEL TODD road-showed MUTINY—it was films like that one that helped downtown (Chicago) theatres lose their appeal into the late ‘60s. Other klunkers with that dubious credit would be STAR!, SHOES OF THE FISHERMAN, DR. DOOLITTLE (Harrison), GOODBYE MR. CHIPS (O'Toole-Clarke). I could unfortunately go on.
I say these types of things with all wise-cracking fondness
News Item:
Chicago Tribune, Sunday, December 16, 1962, s. 5, p. 10, c. 1:
Film Notes
The Michael Todd theater has scheduled Christmas to New Year matinees of “Mutiny on the Bounty” with a 2 o'clock performance every day from Christmas thru New Year’s day. The New Year’s eve performance will be at 8 pm. “Mutiny on the Bounty” stars Marlon Brando as Fletcher Christian and Trevor Howard as Capt. Bligh in the new adaptation of the Nordhoff and Hall novel about the famous mutiny in the South Seas.
Plitt ran the Todd, but i’m not sure if they did the Cinestage.
Weren’t the Todd and the Cinestage in the Plitt chain for awhile?
In 1982 @ MICHAEL TOOD (aka DEARBORN) I saw a (advertised) sneak preview of BEATLEMANIA: THE MOVIE there. I have some recollection at that particular (late) time the place was open only intermittently. I mention this because it was the only playdate for BEATLEMANIA; the film had legal clearance issues never successfully resolved so it never had a regular theatrical release. Too bad -it was a good pic, and I believe fairly intense.
Apparently, before Todd decided to use the Harris, he was in negotiations to use the Garrick, but that fell through and B&K made it back into a theater. I wonder, if Todd had gone in there, maybe we’d still have it.
Yes (assuming the premiere dates matched the decision to equip).
The original Todd-AO installations for “Oklahoma!”:
View link
Michael wasn’t the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, Todd-AO house #2 and the United Artists Downtown Los Angeles house #3.
Also regarding Todd-AO, it is written near the top of this page that the MICHAEL TODD Theatre was the second Todd-AO roadshow theatre. I don’t think this is correct. It’s certainly not correct as far as worldwide 70mm-equipped venues is concerned, which makes me think the intent of the writer was to claim the MICHAEL TODD was the second 70mm venue in the city of Chicago.
But I don’t believe that’s correct either. My research suggests the first theatre in Chicago to equip for 70mm presentations was the McVICKERS with the CINESTAGE being the second such theatre to be so equipped.
The short answer: For projection, Todd-AO was a system that utilized a 70-millimeter print and six-channel magnetic stereophonic sound. This resulted in exceptional presentation quality compared to the standard 35-millimeter process which utilized between one- and four-channel optical or magnetic soundtracks. Many of the films shown at the MICHAEL TODD and CINESTAGE theaters in Chicago during the 1950s and ‘60s were shown in 70mm.
For more details, I’d recommend visiting www.widescreenmuseum.com and www.in70mm.com For a list of where some of the Todd-AO films played, I’d suggest www.FromScriptToDVD.com
John Keating,
If memory serves me correctly, M&R re-opened the Todd and the Cinestage (fka the Harris & Selwyn) under the Dearborn Cinemas moniker in an attempt to bring back mainstream movies. This was circa 1985-1986. For one reason or another, it didn’t work (perhaps the idea was ahead of its time—imagine how a regular cinema would do in the Loop these days). Shortly after this, they went back to playing action & horror films. (When Cineplex-Odeon opened the Burnham Plaza a couple of years later, it was the same story. I had high hopes for that theatre too, but soon C-O dumbed down the Burnham just as M&R dumbed down the Dearborn).
On another note, can anyone tell me what the Todd-AO system was?
In the October edition of Chicago Mag. On page 117 their is a small picture of the Harris dateing from 1948 showing the marquee and the signege before it became the Michael Todd.
Big blockbuster type, especially musicals of the late 50s and early 60s, were first showcased at such grand downtown theaters as the Michael Todd,(and also the McVickers)that showed the movies at a 2PM matinee and then at 8PM. What was so unique and added to the anticipation of seeing one of these great films was that for the most part you had to purchase tickets in advance, as if they were plays. I remember in the late 50’s-early 60s, my dad going downtown and getting tickets well in advance, as special treats, so we coud go and see movies such as South Pacific, Gigi, My Fair Lady and Westside Story. I believe we saw Gigi at the Mike Todd, having gotten all dressed up for the Sunday matinee, taking a cab from the Lincoln Park area. It was magical!
Here is a 1970s photo from HAARGIS.